Review of the Muubaa Reval Leather Jacket with Sizing Help (Compare with Mackage Aritzia, m0851 and All Saints)

Muubaa is a leather brand not really known here in North America.

I only found it by Googling: What leather jacket should I buy? and came across its name.

The one thing I found really challenging is that since it isn’t available to try on at all, especially in Canada, it was difficult to buy it online sight unseen and unworn to know if it would fit me properly or not.

I used their measurements on the site to match up with measurements in other jackets I knew the sizing of, and came to the conclusion that it was an XS or a true to size US4.

Now that I’ve tried it on, and have tried on other leather jackets, I hope to give you an idea of how Muubaa jackets feel, are and fit, or at least, this specific Muubaa jacket, the Reval.

There is NO blog post or real site on the web to compare leather jackets properly especially with the Muubaa brand, so I am hoping this post will help someone else.

COST OF A MUUBAA JACKET

You can get them as cheap as $350 on sale (direct on the site) but whether or not your size and colour will be available is another matter and you won’t be able to try it on. You can also find the store in the UK because that’s where the brand is located.

I paid $460 for mine (secondhand) with all taxes and shipping included and I had wanted it in a black in a US4.

They normally retail for $700 before taxes and shipping.

The Aritzia Kenya jacket is retailed at $575 before taxes and shipping, and All Saints is similarly priced around the $500 range.

m0851 jackets are on the higher end around $600 – $700, much like the Muubaas. I’ve seen them go up to $800.

QUALITY OF MUUBAA LEATHER JACKET

It is true to colour. A nice black that is a little washed-looking and perfect.

When I first touched the leather, it was soft but it had a slight after feel of it being a bit waxy.

I don’t know how to explain this, but it isn’t like a buttery super soft feel on your fingers at first touch, it has a feeling of it being a bit waxed (maybe it is!) even though it is clearly high quality, thin, lambskin leather.

It feels a bit styrofoam-y as a finger feel if that makes sense.

This waxy feeling makes me think of those cheap fake leather jackets found at Zara, H&M and other lower-end stores, but while those jackets MAY not last as long and will not wear as nicely over the years, showing rips and tears over time, this one will wear down nicely into a buttery soft leather over time, I am sure.

I think after a few wears, it will soften up and lose this waxy feel considerably, but the initial touch is not of let’s say a $2000 leather Balenciaga jacket where you run your fingers lightly over the leather and think: OMFG it feels softer than a baby’s bottom!

It does feel soft.

Just not as soft as a baby’s bottom at first touch, and I should know because I have a baby and I’m constantly wiping his bum.

🙂

As a comparison, Aritzia’s Mackage jackets tend to be instantly soft when you run your fingers over them lightly, but even those jackets do feel a bit waxy at times.

You can feel that there’s little to no waxy feeling on the leather, but the downside is that their jackets are H.E.A.V.Y. REALLY heavy. Like, an extra half a pound on each of your shoulders heavy, and that’s due to the thick leather.

The leather really is soft and comfortable on the Muubaa and looks exactly like the pictures above.

Don’t look at the pictures of the jackets on their Muubaa site and think it is stiff and shiny like that. It is not. It’s more of a crumpled, rumpled, casual look and the lambskin is thin.

THE STYLING OF A MUUBAA LEATHER JACKET

There’s a wire that runs through the front edges of the jacket at the zipper and on the other side so that when it’s open you can bend and style it into the shape you want. A nice feature but I don’t plan on playing around with this after I set it.

When it’s zipped up it looks really tight (for now, as I am 20 pounds overweight), and rather strait-jacket-y… but still good.

The buckles are of a decent quality but they make a little bit of noise (as to be expected as they’re metal).

I am not a fan of announcing my arrival by jangling buckles, but I can live with it, it isn’t THAT annoying. Where it jangles or jingles is when the square part of the buckle knocks against that little bit that goes into the hole to be secured, and there’s another metal covering over the square buckle that jingles a bit.

The back is cut a little higher than I expected by about an inch, so it’s not very noticeable but I felt it. I guess I expected it to be a bit longer in the back but it isn’t.

The zippers also have this long fringe-y leather tie thing that I am contemplating removing because I don’t like a lot of extraneous details especially since it’s already buckled at the waist.

The zippers are a gunmetal burnished colour and of a good quality (YKK a privately owned zipper company that makes practically all the zippers in the world. If only I could buy stock in them…).

The zippers zip down fairly easily but only if you hold the sleeve and then pull them down. Otherwise you can’t just reach over and zip down the sleeve with one hand because the zipper bends and catches at an angle and refuses to zip down. Not a big problem but worth noting.

The zipper also feels like it catches JUST a little. It isn’t a smooth zip all the way down but I suspect it’s due to the actual zipper style itself, being a burnished metal, it has a rougher cut or look to it and isn’t smooth or plasticky. Also, because they’re metal, they’re a bit rough on your hands at the pockets when you shove them in. Not sure how to fix this but they do scratch your hands a tiny bit.

The lining inside is soft and feels comfortable.

The leather does not smell or stink, which is something I look out for (once I bought a leather bag and it just reeked to high hell and I thought I could rehabilitate it with some perfumes and soaps but eventually ended up tossing it because it was just too smelly).

The pockets are real and they are deep enough to put your hands in them in a comfortable position where they’re resting down into the jacket (not awkward).

SIZING OF MUUBAA LEATHER JACKET

I’m 5’5″, 5’6″ on a good day and usually 105lbs but when I tried on the jacket I was 125lbs so keep that in mind. My body tends to distribute weight really evenly and I grow an inch all over, not just in one specific area, and an inch or two around my torso makes a big difference in how things fit on me especially as I tailor nearly everything I buy.

I wear anywhere from a US 0 to a US 4 in clothing, so while this is not uncommon for many women as retailers are not standardized for their sizing, it is definitely annoying to try and figure out what size to order, so I am going to give as much info as possible.

At the time I tried on the jacket, I was 125lbs and US4 was a tight fit for a tailored jacket.

My top half is a US 4 because of my shoulders. I am an inverted triangle, and while the rest of my body is a US 0-2, my top half is not, and that means that dresses, and particularly tailored items like button up shirts and jackets, HAVE to fit my shoulders first.

Unfortunately it also means that while the US4 jackets fit me lengthwise in the shoulders, the rest of my body is a US2 or smaller, so everything tends to be big around my torso and arms, which means I usually tailor everything to nip in the waist, bring up the sleeves and so on.

That said, I generally take an XS in almost every mainstream brand like Banana Republic and so on. In designer brands like Burberry, I am definitely a US 4. I’ve never really been able to fit into a US 2 unless the cut and fabric was more forgiving.

These are the sizes I wear in various brands for :

• Burberry: Definitely a US4. I could even go up to a US6 for a slightly looser fit but in trench coats I don’t wear bulky sweaters so the US4 is for a fitted, comfortable size while being able to button up
• Smythe: Very tailored, I take a US 6 in these and get the hem and sleeves taken up.
• J. Crew: I take a 0 in their blazers for a fitted feel, but a 2 would be looser/slightly more comfy on me.
• Aritzia Mackage Kenya Jackets: I take an XS in this (perfect fit for my shoulders) and it’s TIGHT all over (can’t zip it) but as it’s lambskin it’ll stretch over time.
• Banana Republic: I take a 0 in their jackets and a 2 would be a looser fit on me.
• All Saints: I am a US4 in this. The shoulders, arms and everything fit perfectly in a US4, just a little tight to zip up at first.

Now how does a Muubaa feel on me?

Keep in mind I was 125lbs, about 20lbs over my usual weight, which is why it didn’t zip up comfortably (it was a tight but manageable zip without fear of ripping the zip apart), but it still felt pretty comfortable, dare I say, loose in the arms and sleeves, but fitted in the shoulder and just under the armpit (not too tight at all, just right).

It’s true to size as a US4 for the shoulders in my opinion, but the rest of it is more of a US6 for me because the sleeves were loose and I can see that after I lose weight, the front will become baggier (if I can zip it up now, it means that it isn’t a true US4, but more of a US6).

Although come to think of it, if my shoulders are larger but the rest of it is smaller, maybe it’s more of a US6 in general even though it says US4, just because the cut of the jacket is roomier / more casual and not as fitted.

As an example, if I put on the jacket (open) and cross my arms in front of my chest, it doesn’t feel too tight. It feels like it fits perfectly with a bit of tension but not too much.

(This is how you check to see if jackets fit, cross your arms in front of you and hug yourself. If it feels tight, it’s too tight.)

Right out of the box, I can feel that the shoulders fit perfectly, but the arms starting from the shoulder all the way down, are loose. It is NOT a tight fit in the arms, it’s loose around the sleeves I mean, which is kind of nice because I didn’t want a fitted look in this casual biker jacket.

The front of the jacket is super forgiving.

My goodness it was so loose and roomy in front, it surprised me, because they normally don’t leave enough room in the front to account for a bust on women (sad, but true) which is why with my small bust but 20lb heavier frame, I was able to barely zip it up.

It feels tight and constricting when I zip it up, but again, I am about 20 pounds overweight from having a baby and while I am not very busty at all, there was enough space in the front to do up the jacket.

Where I found it was rather tight or fitted is if you zip up the jacket, the waist (your natural waist) is tight when it’s zipped up. The rest of the front of the jacket, is not, and as mentioned, is very blousy to account for your breasts (I’m assuming).

I am not very busty either, so I was able to JUST squeak by and zip up the US4 in this Muubaa whereas I was unable to even close, let alone zip up the Aritzia Mackage Kenya jacket in XS.

I’d say if you were in the C-cup or higher, or you just have a larger torso and want to be able to zip up the jacket, I’d get a size up from your natural size.

Otherwise, take your size, or if you have a small bust and torso, err on the lower end of the size and take a US2 for instance.

If it weren’t for my shoulders being as wide as they are, I would have taken the US2 and felt it be more fitted. Alas, I am fairly certain the US2 would not be as forgiving on my shoulders, so the US4 and a more casual look it is!

Once I go back down to my normal weight, the jacket will fit just fine. As it’s lambskin, I expect it to stretch a little as well, and to not be so fitted like a strait jacket.

I’m really happy I didn’t overthink this too much and hold out for a US6 in a Muubaa because it would have definitely been far too big on me.

It was also a good length, although as I mentioned the back is a little shorter than I expected, but not so short that I felt like I was revealing half my back. It just felt about 2 inches shorter than where it would hit on my natural waist.

KNOWING EVERYTHING WOULD I BUY MUUBAA AGAIN?

Yes.

Aritzia leather jackets are too heavy for my liking — I like the clean, moto style but you can only wear such a heavy jacket for a while before feeling bogged down in it. That said, it’s much better to wear that jacket for Spring, Autumn without a sweater or even Winter with a sweater underneath than  Muubaa.

A Muubaa jacket is really just for lighter weather and you MUST wear a sweater underneath if you want to be warm.

Compared to All Saints, which I have tried on in store, I prefer the Muubaa brand because I hate really heavy coats and I like how thin and light it is, plus the detailing and buckles are really cool.

All Saints coats tend to be rougher, of a cheaper leather and thicker. Between All Saints and Aritizia (two heavy coat brands), I prefer Aritizia coats because they’re a better quality, a softer leather and much nicer to put on.

A similar brand to Muubaa if you are so inclined towards a more minimalist jacket look, is m0851. Their leathers are not as crumply or rumply lambskin-y as Muubaa, they’re a stiffer, shinier, more waxy-ish leather that you will definitely need to wear for a few years before it loosens up and softens into something a little less stiff.

My m0851 leather jacket was a bit plasticky when I first put it on, but over the years I’ve noticed it softening especially at the elbows and areas where I tend to bend and rub agains the leather more. The leather wears down really nicely and will look great over time while softening even more.

The Muubaa is already at that worn down stage, even though the leather has a slight waxy feel to the coat initially, I am sure it will wear off and soften a lot faster than my m0851 jacket.

UPDATE: ONE YEAR LATER

Would I buy it again? Yes. It is softer, it is slightly more worn in, and definitely looser. If you wanted a tighter, more fitted look, then size DOWN from your regular size.

I took a US4 and had I taken the US2, it would have been a tighter but not constricting fit.

Quality is excellent. Squeakiness in the leather has died down somewhat, but I think it’s just the super soft lambskin itself that causes the squeaking.. nothing to be done about that.